And while only a handful of jobs have been targeted so far, they represent a notable shift in management of the state workforce: Some of the positions are in the so-called "exempt" category that is frequently reserved for political appointees.

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With exempt employees being removed, numerous insiders believe Gov. Andrew Cuomo could be starting the time-honored process in which an incoming governor places key supporters in high-level state jobs.

The extent to which this activity might become patronage will depend on how many of those jobs are refilled.

Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto suggested many of positions will remain empty. "We are eliminating management confidential positions without regard to status based on the management needs and fiscal constraints of the agency (in question)," Vlasto said in an email.

For the "competitive" M/C jobs, given to veteran state workers promoted into management on the merits, the cuts will likely hit members of the Public Employees Federation. That's because many merit-promoted managers came from the ranks of PEF.

"I can retreat to PEF and will bounce someone in that position," said one management-level staff attorney who was told his job was being targeted for elimination.

The lawyer, who didn't want to be named, said that he would actually make about $250 per year more as a PEF member because his new salary of approximately $94,000 will include longevity increases. Management workers haven't had raises or longevity hikes for several years, while union members have.

Additionally, he would revert to a 7.5-hour day rather than working approximately 9 hours as a manager.

The Cuomo administration is seeking $450 million in workforce savings this fiscal year, which runs through March 2012. Without that, there could be up to 9,800 state layoffs as a last resort, officials have said.

One major union, Civil Service Employees Association, has made a tentative contract settlement. Their membership is being protected from an estimated 4,500 layoffs pending a ratification vote.

PEF is still negotiating its labor contract with Cuomo, although the two sides -- who held talks several days this week -- appear to have significant differences.

The latest flareup came Friday when Cuomo told Talk 1300 radio that his negotiators had offered PEF essentially the same contract that CSEA will be voting on.

"We've made the same offer to PEF -- it's up to them," Cuomo told host Fred Dicker.

The governor said it was now up to the unions to decide whether to achieve the needed savings through concessions or layoffs.

Friday afternoon, PEF President Ken Brynien disagreed, saying Cuomo may have been misinformed.

"The latest proposal PEF received from the state ... differs significantly from the tentative agreement with CSEA in several key areas, especially regarding health benefits," Brynien said in a statement.

The CSEA deal called for three years without raises, although a $1,000 bonus would be offered in the third year of the five-year contract, which also has higher health insurance costs.

Brynien didn't detail the precise differences with the CSEA contract. Negotiators for Cuomo and PEF haven't discussed specifics of their talks since last month, when PEF put its description of Cuomo's offer and its counter up on its website as a reaction to the beginning of the layoff process.

Friday's tussle between Cuomo and Brynien came after 10 days in which more than 700 PEF members received notice that they would be laid off in July if the contract isn't settled.